Kiwanis Holiday Lights, an annual celebration of holiday lights and displays in Mankato’s Sibley Park, will cancel the 2020 season due to COVID-19 restrictions for events in the State of Minnesota and City of Mankato.
“Our board has been meeting regularly since June to discuss our options and make plans to hold our event implementing social-distancing and other modifications this year. We submitted our COVID-19 event plan to the City of Mankato in late July and have tried relentlessly to put a plan together for holding our event, while creating a safe environment for all who attend,” said Scott Wojcik, Kiwanis Holiday Lights President. “Unfortunately, due to the thousands of people Kiwanis Holiday Lights draws to Sibley Park, we are not able to meet the current guidelines in place by the State of Minnesota and the City of Mankato for limiting event size,” he said. Wojcik said the board considered many alternative options, including limiting the event to driving traffic only, but found it would be impossible to eliminate walking traffic entering the park from the multiple public access points at Sibley Park.
Wojcik said the board delayed a decision to cancel as long as possible, but needed to be made now because set-up work in Sibley Park was slated to begin soon.
“On the bright side, we’re already making plans for our 10th anniversary in 2021,” said Wojcik. “We’re going to use the extra time work to with volunteers in our warehouse and to plan for a big celebration in 2021,” said Wojcik.